Indicators for infant feeding devices



un 1964 G. JEAN-LOUIS HARLE 3,139,064

INDICATORS FOR INFANT FEEDING DEVICES Original Filed Aug. 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l3 I3 7 I7 FIG.I M M FIG. 2

I7 l7 I7 F F F IN V ENTOR GUY J. L. HARLE ATTORNEY Jun 3 1964 G. JEAN-LOUIS HARLE 3,139,054

INDICATORS FOR INFANT FEEDING DEVICES Original Filed Aug. 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8

S F S F F|G.9 FIG. ll

IN V ENTOR GUY J. L. HARLE BY P.

ATTORNEY United States Patent INDICATORS FOR INFANT FEEDING DEVICES Guy Jean-Louis Harle, Vierzon, Cher, France, assignor,

by mesne assignments, to LOreal, a societe anonyme of France Continuation of application Ser. No. 676,543, Aug. 6, 1957. T his application Mar. 21, 1962, Ser. No. 181,375

Claims priority, application France Mar. 26, 1957 1 Claim. (Cl. 116-114) This invention relates to infant feeding devices and methods, and more particularly to nipples for nursing bottles.

This is a continuation of my application, Ser. No. 676,- 543, filed August 6, 1957, now abandoned.

The nipples which are generally available to the pubhe have a feeding outlet which is in the form of a pinhole or of a cross. With such nipples it is impossible to regulate the flow of liquid to the infant. This flow varies with the infants appetite and sucking power as well as with the consistency of the liquid inside the nursing bottle. The feeding outlet of these nipples often becomes progressively clogged during the feeding process so that the flow of liquid from the bottle slows down and eventually stops.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a nipple of simple construction which allows for the selective control of the size of its feeding outlet and of the withdrawal rate of the liquid from the nursing bottle.

The nipple in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of this invention is made of elastic material and has a slit-shaped feeding outlet. One or more index marks indicate the angle which the slit is making with respect to the lips of the infant being fed.

Its principal object is to provide a nipple of simple construction which allows for the selective control of the size of its feeding outlet and of the withdrawal rate of the liquid from the nursing bottle. The nipple in accordance with the invention is made of elastic material and has a slit-shaped feeding outlet. One or more index marks indicate the angle Which the slit is making with respect to a fixed axis such as the nose or the lips of the infant being fed. If the nipple is presented to the infant with the slit perpendicular to the infants nose, the infants lips will press together the edges of the slit so that the size of the feeding outlet will be very small and the withdrawal rate of the liquid very slow. If the nipple is presented to the infant with the slit perpendicular to the infants lips, pressure from the infants lips will open the feeding outlet wide so that the withdrawal rate of the liquid will be fast. The size of the feeding outlet may thus be regulated from a maximum when the slit is perpendicular to the infants lips to a minimum when the slit is parallel to the infants lips, a number of intermediate sizes and withdrawal rates being provided when the slit is between these two positions. In order to enable the person feeding the infant to monitor these various withdrawal rates, the nipple is provided with one or more index marks which are oriented with respect to the slit and which, when lined up with a fixed axis such as the infants nose, indicate the size of the outlet and the withdrawal rate of the fluid for a given position.

Other and incidental objects of this invention will be apparent from a reading of the following specification and an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURES 1 to 5 are top views of nipples in accordance with this invention;

FIGURES 6 and 7 show nursing bottles equipped with nipples in accordance with this invention, the index marks being shown positioned on the nipple and on the bottle respectively; and

FIGURES 8 and 10 show cap and nipple assemblies 3,139,064 Patented June 30, 1964 in accordance with this invention, the index marks being shown positioned on the nipple in FIGURE 8 and on the cap in FIGURE 10.

FIGURES 9 and 11 are top plan views of the devices shown in FIGURES 8 and 10 respectively.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 there is shown the top view of a nipple 13 in accordance with this invention. The nipple 13 is made of elastic material and is provided with a feeding outlet in the shape of a slit 15. The slit 15 is such that its edges are pressed one against the other. On the skirt 17 of the nipple 13 (see FIGURE 6) are located three index marks. These index marks indicate the angle which the slit 15 makes with the lips or the nose of the infant being fed. The index mark S is perpendicular to the slit 15, the index mark F is in the prolongation of the slit 15, and the index mark M is in an intermediary position. If the nipple 13 is presented to the infant with the index mark S lined up with the infants nose, the infants lips will press together the edges of the slit 15 so that the size of the feeding outlet will be very small and the withdrawal rate of the liquid inside the bottle Very slow. If the nipple 13 is presented to the infant with the index mark F lined up with the infants nose, the infants lips will be perpendicular to the slit 15 and pressure from the infants lips will open the feeding outlet wide so that the withdrawal rate of the liquid inside the bottle will be fast. If the nipple 13 is presented to the infant so that its nose is lined up with a point intermediate the S and F index marks, the size of the feeding outlet and the withdrawal rate of the liquid will increase as the point is moved from the S to the F positions. These changes may be made during the feeding process simply by rotating the nursing bottle while the infant is feeding and without having to remove the bottle from the infants mouth.

FIGURE 2 shows the shape which the slit 15 tends to assume when the pressure is applied to it in a direction axially to the line of the slit 15. It can. be seen that its cross-sectional opening is quide wide.

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 show embodiments of the invention in which the single slit of the nipple of FIGURES 1 and 2 is replaced by a plurality of slits by means of which the changes in withdrawal rates of the liquid may be varied. In FIGURE 3 the slits are substantially parallel, in FIGURE 4 the slits are slanted, and in FIGURE 5 the slits assume different curves. Many different functions of the withdrawal rate with respect to the angular position of the nipple may be obtained by varying the shapes and/ or the slants of the slits.

FIGURE 6 shows the nipple 13 mounted on a nursing bottle 19. The index marks S, M and F are on the skirt 17 of the nipple 13, while in FIGURE 7 the index marks are positioned on the bottle 20 itself. In this latter case the nipple 13 is lined up with the index marks on the bottle 20 with the help of the two arrows 21 and 23 located on the nipple and on therbottle respectively.

FIGURES 8 and 9 show a nipple and cap assembly in which the index marks have been placed on the skirt of the nipple 13 itself. In FIGURES 10 and 11 there is shown a nipple and cap assembly in which the index marks have been placed on the cap 25. The nipple 13 is lined up with the index marks on the cap 25 with the help of the two arrows 27 and 29 located on the nipple and on the cap respectively.

The number of index marks as well as their location may be varied without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Other variations will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art, and I, therefore, reserve the right to employ all such modifications fallingwithin the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

An infant feeding nipple for selectively controlling the infant feeding for influencing the Withdrawal rate of material through the nipple of a nursing bottle comprising an elastic material having a skirt portion and an extended portion, at least one fixed-length slit in the extended portion of the nipple and having edges forming the slit that are pressed one against the other, a plurality of indicia afiixed on the skirt of the nipple in which a first indicia is oriented in alignment with said slit to indicate a first withdrawal rate and a second indicia is positioned on an axis perpendicularly disposed to said slit to indicate a second withdrawal rate, said indicia being indicative of the angle which the line of the slit makes with the line of the infants nose, and a grasping portion of said bottle 2: to rotatably orient the nipple while the infant is nursing from the bottle for selectively positioning the slit relative to its alignment With the infants nose for adjusting the effective size of the feeding outlet formed by the slit and thereby the Withdrawal rate of the material from the bottle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

